CORRECTIONS: I just rewatched this and realised that I can explain why characters level up ostensibly at random. For some reason, characters can meet their level up experience requirements but not actually level up, so once their next turn rolls around, it pings immediately. This still happened in Arc 2, so it's not a huge mystery like I make it out to be. Also a bunch of people in the comments have named console RPGs that had combat occur on the same screen that pre-date Arc. My research was just bad. Thank you based commenters.
i love the way early playstation rpgs look. it's like they're not quite out of the snes era but they're slowly taking the training wheels off to take advantage of the console's full capabilities.
Yeah, everything before and around FF7 has this weird "We're still an SNES game but with way less constraints." sort of feel. Beyond the Beyond, Suikoden, etc. are all basically just enhanced SNES experiences. It's not till the later years where you start getting that evolved, premium 32 bit experience.
i'm certain it's just my nostalgia, but this game is one of the most charming ps1 games in my opinion. each characters has so many animations, depending on the damage they do, which direction their facing etc. each with unique voice lines and sfx. the enemy designs are also super fun, and have some surprising details as well. like how the monk enemy uses his beads a as a beam sword, and puts a hat on as he walks. also some of the accessories are not that negligible (50% increases to damage or defense is crazy), however some of them that seem like they would be good are actually just... well they're programmed poorly and don't have any effect. oh and every single song in the game is a banger.
HOLY SMOKES! Those are some fantastic animations. Been very curious about Arc. I almost never hear about it when discussing JRPGs, let alone PS1 JRPGs. Lets see how the second game turns out.
Growing up a buddy of mine had the Arc the lad games. I had no idea they were tactical rpgs. I just thought they were regular rpgs. Now I want to try it out.
As far as blowing 8 hours goes, you could do a lot worse tbh. Most Tactics RPGs are 40-100 depending on how deep you go, so 8 seems like it's giving you time.
@@Caspicum I've still yet to find one as fulfilling as the original old school final fantasy tactics. I just with more people would give that game a try or at least had the ability to with a remake/remaster on newer hardware. Still can't find one that really scratched that same itch. Also, just wanted to say I love your videos man. Keep pumping them out.
From what I've seen, which is almost no gameplay and very little screenshots, it looks better. A big driver for starting the series was a stray screenshot of the third game, and I fell in love with the art style, which was a bit more elongated than 1 and 2. Still super chuffed to get to the second one though.
@@Caspicum the difference between Arc the Lad 1 and 2 is, for lack of another word, staggering. Screenshots alone don't do it justice. It's not even the same genre. Arc the Lad 2 has actual exploration, it's not a SRPG like its predecessor. It's a massive game as well.
I've just finished Arc 2. It is better but still lack so many things. Exploration gets boring, battling gets boring, the plot is soooo cliche. It is better than the first but the bar is still very low.
That's a good reason to dig it, often times they're full of systems and it just adds time to the game, whether the systems add anything meaningful or not.
@@Caspicum agreed. I find I imaginatively gravitate towards FF tactics but I don't have the time to delve into it anymore. The simplicity of this and Shining Force is great to chill to.
I still think it’s wild how Konami developed a solar sensor for the serial I/O port for those early model PS1s... ...in an alternate universe where Boktai 2 came out on PS1. (Happy Holidays, Casp! Thank you for all the great content this year.)
7:51 lol I see what you did there. I enjoyed this series a lot when I was younger. Personally I liked that your accomplishments that you gained in the first game carried over to the sequel which is a big game. I’d say this series reminds me a lot of the Trails/Kiseki series especially with the third game having a huge emphasis on the hunters guild. I’m looking forward to seeing you tackle the second and third game.
I don't even hate Working Designs' work but after the Alundra line about weed, you really gotta question if what you're getting is authentic, especially given the incredible time constraints on the Arc project. I'm pretty keen for 2 and 3 though, 2 looks great on a gameplay level, and 3 looks fantastic graphics-wise. Genuinely not sure how they're going to play out, but I'm primed.
God, that's a tough one. I don't think it strictly fits the requirements, since it seems more directly Ultima-inspired, more of a CRPG, but I wouldn't discount it since combat seems to resolve like a Tactics RPG. damn son where were you when I was writing this script :(
in between me asking you for atl and now i ended up finding a chill dude thats a bigger atl fan than me series is still going strong the newest,(mobile game) is getting an english translation now
Arc the Lad is one of those games I've always known the name of, but never seen anyone play it. At least now I can pretend to know what it is like. Also what a fucking name, Arc the Lad.
First tactical based RPG on console to have combat on the same screen as movement? I wonder if that accolade would go to Shingen the Ruler, a Feudal Japan simulator released by Hot-B on NES in 1989? I say that because I don't know if the Feudal Japan simulator part disqualifies it.
@@Caspicum Come to think of it, the first game in the series is Takeda Shingen but it only came out on Famicom in Japan in 1988. I would assume there's another Japan exclusive title that would predate it, but I'll be damned if I could find it.
Wait, you haven't STARTED Arc The Lad II yet??? We won't get a follow-up to this video for months. Arc II is huge. It's like playing this game seven times in a row.
Yeah there's not a lot to it, especially coming from a genre where going on, you expect a bare minimum when it comes to systems and character progression. Here's hoping 2 is better.
Just finished both the first and second game. Absolutely had a blast with them. Loved the characters, loved the magic, loved the animations. the story was totally passable, and some of the enemy’s were pretty awesome (especially in the second game) as well as the music. The second game had a lot of great moments story wise, and the hunter guild was pretty cool. It reminded me of phantasy star 4’s system. Obviously, and you layed out the problems well, it is not perfect. Few games are. The only thing that flat out sucks about the second game is the limited item space you have. If you haven’t tried it, play langrisser 2 for the genesis/mega drive. It is great in all the ways that Arc isn’t, in terms of strategy depth and challenge. That game really had me sweating. Sticking with the PS1 though, Vandal Hearts was a streamlined but extremely fun play through, Sayiuki: Journey West is shaping up to be an excellent FFT style game, and Vanguard Bandits reminds me of Shining Force with mechs. Thanks for the vid!
I appreciate the comment! Vandal Hearts and Vanguard Bandits have been on my "to do" list for so long it's not even funny. I want to rip through a bunch more PS1/PS2 SRPGs but my upload speed, she is not so good. Or rather, the rate at which I have videos ready to upload :^). I have wanted to get into Langrisser at some point too, I've got a huge memory gap for Mega Drive RPGs and want to go back to fill what I can. I am currently working on the Arc 2 script, it's a looooooooong game, but I really want to take my time and try to nail the criticisms as best I can. This video was a bit light on detail, and I hope to fix that in the follow-up.
Casp O'Saurus arc 2 is filled with wonderful moments and new characters. It can drag here and there, but it’s definitely manageable to get through it I can do it lol. Mega drive is such a wonderful console for rpgs. Phantasy Star 4, King Colossus, Vixen 357, the shining force games, Master Of Monsters, etc etc. you got your work cut out for you! Hope to see more!
Great video. Love this series. 3 is a weak link, but 4 (Twilight of the Spirits) on the PS2 is an awesome game again, Arc the Lad 2 level great. A beautiful end to the whole arc (heh). Too bad it later ended with an ill conceived half assed real time attempt at online play with End of Darkness.
This (soon to be) series started because I was reminiscing about how much I loved Twilight. Maybe it was because I was a teenager at the time, and it ticked all the melodramatic, edgy flags, or maybe it's just a sick game. Guess we'll find out soon enough :^)
Casp my man, why do you make me want to replay this game. It's just so painfully OK, You will be positively surprised by the sequel it's quite godly, my fave is the 3rd one even if I don't think it's the better than 2 objectively, it just speaks to me more.
That's kinda how I feel about Breath of Fires 3 and 4, like I know 3 is objectively better, but 4 ticks certain boxes for me that I can't fight. Almost everyone has said how good Arc 2 is though, I'm pretty excited to get into it.
Woke up too early to see this gem. I just recently played this cuz it was so short and sweet. The second one is really an amazing step up and really has a great hunter x hunter esque anime world that's so fun.
I noticed that you used Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter music. Great choice. The original Arc the Lad is simple, but I actually do love it for that. It is definitely too short, but the second game makes up for it. I love the visuals of the game and I think that the story whilst not being the best is fun and does its job. I think that the gameplay is good, even though if I recall correctly, I wouldn't put it in the same tier as Vandal Hearts which to me was a blast to play. Overall a good game, with cool visuals that had a pretty epic sequel at least story wise. I wouldn't call it forgettable, but I would say that it wasn't at the level of the top tier Tactical RPGs. That is purely my opinion of course.
Funny you should mention Vandal Hearts, I've actually just acquired that in an effort to burn through a bunch of PS1 tactics RPGs that've been in my backlog for decades. Arc was my entry into the delve! Also, you're right, I was definitely a bit harsh on Arc and I think that was solely due to how Tactics Ogre changed hte game. Arc was a fairly standard go around, and short to boot which was practically unheard of at the time.
i had the arc the lad collection on ps1, i remember arc 2 being a huge game but its probably been 20 years since ive played it. Excited to hear your thoughts
Why does the guy at 9:44 have a Mercedes-Benz logo as an earring? Is that a Persona reference (only REAL persona fans get this one)? Also, very clever to split this video just like the game devs did into two. Keep it up, was a good watch.
I've definitely grown fond of more recent styles, like the low-poly 'chibi' sort of style, but that era is prime for almost every aesthetic tbh. Like Demon's Crest? Hot damn.
4:40 New ideas could include: Paper boy Robo Knight Plastic bin Pencil Sharpener Trash can Cardboard Tissue Wood wizard Metal screen Glass console Hair ghost Golden soon Green connection Remote control Silly suggestions
Pretty much how I felt about that game. The added context explains a lot actually. The most surprising thing for me with the ending is that up until now, it really looked like a generic high fantasy world. And then it turns out it's far more futuristic than what we first thought about.
Yeah the shots of the cities we didn't see until that point looked like a Final Fantasy 7, or SaGa sort of set up. It kinda demonstrated how little of the world you see when all you're exposed to is battle maps.
Part 2 was my best friend's favorite but I never played it because I had gotten Star Ocean 2 and the rest is history so I'm looking forward to the video for part 2. Curious to see what I had missed.
Have you ever considered covering any of the Disgaea series? They've always looked interesting but I know nothing about them and you've mentioned them several times before. Plus more Prinny so...
I have, but it'd just be me jerking off Disgaea 2 and talking hot shit on the rest. Thing about Disgaea is, outside of quality of life stuff, and a few minor mechanics here or there, the games are borderline identical, which would make for some awkward videos. You never know though, they might exist one day!
It is a good day when Casp uploads a new video. I personally disagree somewhat about cliffhanger endings. Sure, it does hype up the sequel, but it's a videogame equivalent of blueballing. I guess now it's not a big deal, since it's an old game and you can play the sequel as soon as you finish the first one. Back in the day gamers had to wait many months until the sequel got released. I guess it's a sign of a game being split into two games during development, since often the middle of the story is the lowest point for the heroes, and it is a natural spot for splitting.
You're totally right, and the devs even admit to straight up splitting it for deadline constraints, but it depends on what they do with the follow-up and whether or not the first game feels like a complete experience outside of the ending events, which I think it does. I guess given that external memory was a new concept as well, tying it into a fresh gimmick was a neat way to justify the split. In the West, Arc came with the first 3 games in a bundle, but in Japan there was a good 2 years between each or around that, so that would've been a bloody pain.
I loved Twilight of the Spirits when I was younger, so going back through the series was a no-brainer. The anime is of the third part, right? I might have ot check that out. Apparently the theme song for the English(?) dub was done by one of the chicks from the B52s. Small bloody world.
@@Caspicum The anime follows the second game starring Elc with an anime exclusive main villain. Your mileage may vary on the quality of the new main bad guy and story differences. If memory serves, it definitely has an English ending. The opening should be just an instrumental. Talk about a franchise that could've used an HD remaster collection before emulators reached this point of quality.
I never really felt like arc was intended to be a tactical rpg but that could have to do with the fact that I experienced the whole series (at the time) as a complete package. Generic as it is however it’s a decent take on the heroes journey albeit very narrow in scope. If anything you could compare the first game to the preview demos that come out of Japanese studios these days, or prologue demos that come out sometimes for games in development still but the devs want to maintain hype. If anything Arc 1 is clearly the prologue to the main story in part 2.
It wouldn't shock me if Arc was intended to be a more traditional JRPG, and took an easier approach to it when facing down time constraints. I think that'll be easier to piece together as I play the follow-ups for sure.
@@Caspicum I can say this, you could easily stop after part two and feel satisfied as it tells a complete story across two games. While I enjoyed part 3, I always felt that much like Twilight of Spirits and whatever the one Namco published that wasn’t even an RPG, it ultimately adds nothing to the main story.
Ayy Casp BA-BEE. Class video. Arc has always been a series I have been interested in. Even own a few but never got around to it. Also ew gross, you called it a tactics rpg instead of a strategy rpg. Blocked and reported.
Wanted AtL more than FFVII back when the PSX came out, sad it took so long to come out. Meaning I liked the art better, but then also the animation was better also as you said.
It's interesting how FF7 ended up being the better overall product, but Arc aged better visually, despite being panned for having 2D graphics. What a strange time early 3D was.
That's Hoshigami Ruining Blue Earth. It's on PS1 and had an NDS remake. It's not very good, I had a video planned for it but it's so boring I dropped it.
I wasn't going to, but I might! The series would feel incomplete without it, I think. I just gotta figure out where it lands on the timeline, if at all, without spoiling 2 and 3.
Arc 2 is based, one of the best on the PS1. Shame it never got much attention. It's much more open, RPG-ish and long than the first, with sidequests, an overworld map, etc. The first game is like a prologue sequence of battles. Just make sure you have the romancing stones and choco on your arc 1 save
I actually have to go back through the Choco dungeon, pain in the arse that it is. I got to Choco and accidentally yeeted myself not knowing she threw grenades back at you. F
@@Caspicum Did you get the romancing stones? From what I remember she's much more manageable if you have them equipped, on the healer character IIRC for healing every turn. Arc 2 lets you fuse them into one piece of equipment that's the best item in the game as well. It's got to be the greatest point of frustration in these games how they are missable, somewhat obtuse to find and with no way to get in Arc 2 if you miss them on Arc 1. Something similar applies to Choco, too. She's nerfed in Arc 2, but there's an entire sidequest to upgrade her back into a broken endgame unit. So if you don't complete the dungeon in Arc 1 you are not only missing the unit but also some content. The final boss in Arc 2 is enough of a nightmare marathon with both of these, so I can only imagine how ridiculous it must be without them.
Thankfully, it only took 2 goddamn years to finish the series. Thank you Casp, for dealing with all this rubbish. You can now lobotomize yourself guilt-free.
Completing a series is some kind of record for me. I honestly think this is the first one I've seen through to the end. Outside of the N64 RPGs but idk does that count
@@Zalachai god damn bro you were 100% right. I just edged him out with the Romancing Stone giving my infinite heals and the dragon girl. Talk about a bloated difficulty wall of a boss.
@@Caspicum I like the story of the dark one and why he is so strong, but gameplay wise...yeah. Spoilers: it literally takes 4 attempts to defeat him permanently between arc 2, 3, 4, and 5.
@@Caspicum But seriously though don't even bother with end of darkness, without the online aspect its basically pointless as a game, same with the two RE outbreak games(obviously still better game than EOD tho lol)
At least it's not like Golden Sun where they just blatantly stop things once you've done 2 out of the 4 lighthouse towers your party is on a quest to climb. I get they wanted a point to shift the story to the other group, but man I felt cheated as a kid, since before that point I thought the 2nd game was a sequel, and not just the second half of the story.
That was definitely a major blue balling, but when given the alternative, that is, the whole game on the Nintendo 64, you gotta pick your battles, you know?
It does, but some of the tracks are a little too bombastic and clashed with me talking a bit much. I try to stick to just the game I cover with my music selection, but sometimes I fall back on Dragoon or Grandia music. It's not a statement on the quality of the Arc OST, it's really good, but I do it all to make a... relatively better audio experience.
@@Caspicum Oh god dude, have you not played Barkley Gaiden? Maybe you're joking or maybe you've forgotten the best character, but if not you really should. It is a timeless masterpiece of Iliadic proportions. ua-cam.com/video/8F1cOvZ3nS8/v-deo.html
@@Caspicum okay, well I think I got Darkness on the cheap at a game store back in the day and it wasn't fun, and as far as I know it killed the series, but maybe there's an appeal that I missed when I played it.
CORRECTIONS:
I just rewatched this and realised that I can explain why characters level up ostensibly at random.
For some reason, characters can meet their level up experience requirements but not actually level up, so once their next turn rolls around, it pings immediately. This still happened in Arc 2, so it's not a huge mystery like I make it out to be.
Also a bunch of people in the comments have named console RPGs that had combat occur on the same screen that pre-date Arc. My research was just bad. Thank you based commenters.
Historically accurate
Happy merchants have been summoning demons for millennia
still do
I see demons hobbling around all over the place. Literal vampire pot-bellied goblins fueled by soylent and moral righteousness.
i love the way early playstation rpgs look. it's like they're not quite out of the snes era but they're slowly taking the training wheels off to take advantage of the console's full capabilities.
Yeah, everything before and around FF7 has this weird "We're still an SNES game but with way less constraints." sort of feel. Beyond the Beyond, Suikoden, etc. are all basically just enhanced SNES experiences. It's not till the later years where you start getting that evolved, premium 32 bit experience.
i'm certain it's just my nostalgia, but this game is one of the most charming ps1 games in my opinion. each characters has so many animations, depending on the damage they do, which direction their facing etc. each with unique voice lines and sfx. the enemy designs are also super fun, and have some surprising details as well. like how the monk enemy uses his beads a as a beam sword, and puts a hat on as he walks. also some of the accessories are not that negligible (50% increases to damage or defense is crazy), however some of them that seem like they would be good are actually just... well they're programmed poorly and don't have any effect. oh and every single song in the game is a banger.
HOLY SMOKES! Those are some fantastic animations.
Been very curious about Arc. I almost never hear about it when discussing JRPGs, let alone PS1 JRPGs.
Lets see how the second game turns out.
I've heard it's like 10x the size, so here's hoping it adds something to justify that extra time.
@@Caspicum I have played the second game, but I couldn't beat it because my Playstation 3 broke. It is super long.
Growing up a buddy of mine had the Arc the lad games. I had no idea they were tactical rpgs. I just thought they were regular rpgs.
Now I want to try it out.
As far as blowing 8 hours goes, you could do a lot worse tbh. Most Tactics RPGs are 40-100 depending on how deep you go, so 8 seems like it's giving you time.
@@Caspicum I've still yet to find one as fulfilling as the original old school final fantasy tactics. I just with more people would give that game a try or at least had the ability to with a remake/remaster on newer hardware. Still can't find one that really scratched that same itch.
Also, just wanted to say I love your videos man. Keep pumping them out.
Trust me, the sequel is definitely worth playing, though the gameplay does not branch out too much, everything else improves by a lot
From what I've seen, which is almost no gameplay and very little screenshots, it looks better. A big driver for starting the series was a stray screenshot of the third game, and I fell in love with the art style, which was a bit more elongated than 1 and 2. Still super chuffed to get to the second one though.
@@Caspicum the difference between Arc the Lad 1 and 2 is, for lack of another word, staggering. Screenshots alone don't do it justice. It's not even the same genre. Arc the Lad 2 has actual exploration, it's not a SRPG like its predecessor. It's a massive game as well.
I've just finished Arc 2. It is better but still lack so many things. Exploration gets boring, battling gets boring, the plot is soooo cliche. It is better than the first but the bar is still very low.
@@pedrohenriqueflores1238 I actually really liked the plot, it gets fucking DARK as SHIT.
Always excited to see new work from you! What a great Christmas gift.
ty ty ty ty ty. I can't type ty enough but if I do it anymore, youtube will flag me as spam
@@Caspicum Reported for spam. UA-cam, take him to the slex dungeon and hold the L.
I like this tactical rpg for its simplicity.
You might like Wargroove then
That's a good reason to dig it, often times they're full of systems and it just adds time to the game, whether the systems add anything meaningful or not.
@@Caspicum agreed. I find I imaginatively gravitate towards FF tactics but I don't have the time to delve into it anymore. The simplicity of this and Shining Force is great to chill to.
@@Crispman_777 that one looks cool. I don't have a switch however.
@@MrSerpico145 It's on PC and will run on basically anything
I still think it’s wild how Konami developed a solar sensor for the serial I/O port for those early model PS1s...
...in an alternate universe where Boktai 2 came out on PS1. (Happy Holidays, Casp! Thank you for all the great content this year.)
Those 5 videos? All for you, baby.
7:51 lol I see what you did there. I enjoyed this series a lot when I was younger. Personally I liked that your accomplishments that you gained in the first game carried over to the sequel which is a big game. I’d say this series reminds me a lot of the Trails/Kiseki series especially with the third game having a huge emphasis on the hunters guild. I’m looking forward to seeing you tackle the second and third game.
I don't even hate Working Designs' work but after the Alundra line about weed, you really gotta question if what you're getting is authentic, especially given the incredible time constraints on the Arc project. I'm pretty keen for 2 and 3 though, 2 looks great on a gameplay level, and 3 looks fantastic graphics-wise. Genuinely not sure how they're going to play out, but I'm primed.
Dungeons and Dragons on the Sega Megadrive had combat and movement in the same screen, but I don't know if that counts as a tactical RPG
God, that's a tough one. I don't think it strictly fits the requirements, since it seems more directly Ultima-inspired, more of a CRPG, but I wouldn't discount it since combat seems to resolve like a Tactics RPG.
damn son where were you when I was writing this script :(
in between me asking you for atl and now i ended up finding a chill dude thats a bigger atl fan than me
series is still going strong the newest,(mobile game) is getting an english translation now
Oh damn, that's sick. I'll have to steal you away from him!
@@Caspicum lol gay
I remember watching a anime adaptation to this years back that's how I heard about this niche series
Well you are an Otaku. 🙂
if I remember correctly is based on the second game
Yeah that was an anime adaption of the second or third game or something. I should look into that for the future videos.
Arc the Lad is one of those games I've always known the name of, but never seen anyone play it. At least now I can pretend to know what it is like.
Also what a fucking name, Arc the Lad.
First tactical based RPG on console to have combat on the same screen as movement? I wonder if that accolade would go to Shingen the Ruler, a Feudal Japan simulator released by Hot-B on NES in 1989? I say that because I don't know if the Feudal Japan simulator part disqualifies it.
Oh damn that might actually be it. Maybe there's an earlier one, but I'd count Shingen tbh.
@@Caspicum Come to think of it, the first game in the series is Takeda Shingen but it only came out on Famicom in Japan in 1988. I would assume there's another Japan exclusive title that would predate it, but I'll be damned if I could find it.
Wait, you haven't STARTED Arc The Lad II yet??? We won't get a follow-up to this video for months. Arc II is huge. It's like playing this game seven times in a row.
It's even worse when you learn that I beat Arc 3 months ago :^)
happy to know that I not the only one who didn't find this game to be all that great.
Yeah there's not a lot to it, especially coming from a genre where going on, you expect a bare minimum when it comes to systems and character progression. Here's hoping 2 is better.
Just finished both the first and second game. Absolutely had a blast with them. Loved the characters, loved the magic, loved the animations. the story was totally passable, and some of the enemy’s were pretty awesome (especially in the second game) as well as the music. The second game had a lot of great moments story wise, and the hunter guild was pretty cool. It reminded me of phantasy star 4’s system. Obviously, and you layed out the problems well, it is not perfect. Few games are. The only thing that flat out sucks about the second game is the limited item space you have.
If you haven’t tried it, play langrisser 2 for the genesis/mega drive. It is great in all the ways that Arc isn’t, in terms of strategy depth and challenge. That game really had me sweating. Sticking with the PS1 though, Vandal Hearts was a streamlined but extremely fun play through, Sayiuki: Journey West is shaping up to be an excellent FFT style game, and Vanguard Bandits reminds me of Shining Force with mechs.
Thanks for the vid!
I appreciate the comment! Vandal Hearts and Vanguard Bandits have been on my "to do" list for so long it's not even funny. I want to rip through a bunch more PS1/PS2 SRPGs but my upload speed, she is not so good. Or rather, the rate at which I have videos ready to upload :^).
I have wanted to get into Langrisser at some point too, I've got a huge memory gap for Mega Drive RPGs and want to go back to fill what I can.
I am currently working on the Arc 2 script, it's a looooooooong game, but I really want to take my time and try to nail the criticisms as best I can. This video was a bit light on detail, and I hope to fix that in the follow-up.
Casp O'Saurus arc 2 is filled with wonderful moments and new characters. It can drag here and there, but it’s definitely manageable to get through it I can do it lol.
Mega drive is such a wonderful console for rpgs. Phantasy Star 4, King Colossus, Vixen 357, the shining force games, Master Of Monsters, etc etc. you got your work cut out for you!
Hope to see more!
Nice to see you weren't banished to the shadow realm, got to get interesting info from old PS1 JRPGs somewhere.
The Shadow Realm couldn't stop me from talking about JRPGs, or future videos which aren't JRPGs :^)
Great video. Love this series. 3 is a weak link, but 4 (Twilight of the Spirits) on the PS2 is an awesome game again, Arc the Lad 2 level great. A beautiful end to the whole arc (heh). Too bad it later ended with an ill conceived half assed real time attempt at online play with End of Darkness.
This (soon to be) series started because I was reminiscing about how much I loved Twilight. Maybe it was because I was a teenager at the time, and it ticked all the melodramatic, edgy flags, or maybe it's just a sick game. Guess we'll find out soon enough :^)
I love this series, the second and third give the first game a lot more meaning and have far more interesting stories and characters.
I still haven't started 2, but I've heard nothing but good things, I can't wait, hey!
An early Xmas present, why thank you
This is the audiovisual equivalent of coal and we both know it :^)
Gold, pure gold. This title franchise was the obscure monolith of my teenage years.
I have always adored the first 3
Got them as the collection when I was younger and went in hard !
Great video as always.
tytyty
Casp my man, why do you make me want to replay this game. It's just so painfully OK, You will be positively surprised by the sequel it's quite godly, my fave is the 3rd one even if I don't think it's the better than 2 objectively, it just speaks to me more.
That's kinda how I feel about Breath of Fires 3 and 4, like I know 3 is objectively better, but 4 ticks certain boxes for me that I can't fight. Almost everyone has said how good Arc 2 is though, I'm pretty excited to get into it.
@@Caspicum yeah, it's still more or less a snes game with a cd rom player but damn did they use it to the max
Woke up too early to see this gem. I just recently played this cuz it was so short and sweet. The second one is really an amazing step up and really has a great hunter x hunter esque anime world that's so fun.
That's good to hear! I can't wait to get into it.
I noticed that you used Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter music. Great choice. The original Arc the Lad is simple, but I actually do love it for that. It is definitely too short, but the second game makes up for it. I love the visuals of the game and I think that the story whilst not being the best is fun and does its job. I think that the gameplay is good, even though if I recall correctly, I wouldn't put it in the same tier as Vandal Hearts which to me was a blast to play. Overall a good game, with cool visuals that had a pretty epic sequel at least story wise. I wouldn't call it forgettable, but I would say that it wasn't at the level of the top tier Tactical RPGs. That is purely my opinion of course.
Funny you should mention Vandal Hearts, I've actually just acquired that in an effort to burn through a bunch of PS1 tactics RPGs that've been in my backlog for decades. Arc was my entry into the delve! Also, you're right, I was definitely a bit harsh on Arc and I think that was solely due to how Tactics Ogre changed hte game. Arc was a fairly standard go around, and short to boot which was practically unheard of at the time.
@@Caspicum People have told me to play Tactics Ogre and I really want to for the PlayStation 1.
i had the arc the lad collection on ps1, i remember arc 2 being a huge game but its probably been 20 years since ive played it. Excited to hear your thoughts
I have seen 60+ hours, which is *insane* but I'm looking forward to it for sure.
Sempai! Your video is suggesting one of mine owo
Why does the guy at 9:44 have a Mercedes-Benz logo as an earring? Is that a Persona reference (only REAL persona fans get this one)?
Also, very clever to split this video just like the game devs did into two. Keep it up, was a good watch.
It's the equivalent of dropping a receipt out of your wallet and it having more zeros than that one scene in Code Geass.
Any chance you’ll talk about Vandal Hearts? 🥺👉👈 It’s also a strategy RPG on the PS1.
Yes! I want to do a round up of old SRPG/Tactical RPGs, and Vandal Hearts is very high on that list!
1990-2006 jrpg aesthetic was kino. It will never be this good again.
I've definitely grown fond of more recent styles, like the low-poly 'chibi' sort of style, but that era is prime for almost every aesthetic tbh. Like Demon's Crest? Hot damn.
finishing the series in 5 years? Low balling it there Casp.
Digimon only took 6 years, it can be done!
4:40 New ideas could include:
Paper boy
Robo Knight
Plastic bin
Pencil Sharpener
Trash can
Cardboard
Tissue
Wood wizard
Metal screen
Glass console
Hair ghost
Golden soon
Green connection
Remote control
Silly suggestions
What kind of SILLY FOOL would do such a thing
Pretty much how I felt about that game. The added context explains a lot actually.
The most surprising thing for me with the ending is that up until now, it really looked like a generic high fantasy world. And then it turns out it's far more futuristic than what we first thought about.
Yeah the shots of the cities we didn't see until that point looked like a Final Fantasy 7, or SaGa sort of set up. It kinda demonstrated how little of the world you see when all you're exposed to is battle maps.
3:27 Hey, I know that theme! But I can't seem to find a Legend of Dragoon video on your channel :(
I know, I disgust even me. Good catch on that audio though!
Part 2 was my best friend's favorite but I never played it because I had gotten Star Ocean 2 and the rest is history so I'm looking forward to the video for part 2.
Curious to see what I had missed.
Based on what I've seen, you were probably better off with Star Ocean 2 tbh. That said, I'm super curious too!
Yay! This will be fun!
Have you ever considered covering any of the Disgaea series? They've always looked interesting but I know nothing about them and you've mentioned them several times before. Plus more Prinny so...
I have, but it'd just be me jerking off Disgaea 2 and talking hot shit on the rest. Thing about Disgaea is, outside of quality of life stuff, and a few minor mechanics here or there, the games are borderline identical, which would make for some awkward videos. You never know though, they might exist one day!
@@Caspicum A bit like what Pokémon does then? Maybe the series could fit into a single video in that case, rather than a multi episode thing.
I hear that Legend of Dragoon music, methinks that would be a good video.
You're right. I just need more time :(
I'm now very excited.
Very interested in seeing your thoughts on the third game because of how you saw dragon quarter
I just beat 2 and I'm legit looking forward to 3. Gotta see if it can justify itself tbh.
@@Caspicum the music/battle system improvements are def worth it
That happy moment when Tactics Ogre gets a mention
I will take every opportunity to mention Ogre Battle or Tactics Ogre. I will never let you down!
@@Caspicum Keep it up ya awesome person !
I think the one I got "eternal eyes" is the first ps1 srpg
and kartia
It is a good day when Casp uploads a new video.
I personally disagree somewhat about cliffhanger endings. Sure, it does hype up the sequel, but it's a videogame equivalent of blueballing. I guess now it's not a big deal, since it's an old game and you can play the sequel as soon as you finish the first one. Back in the day gamers had to wait many months until the sequel got released. I guess it's a sign of a game being split into two games during development, since often the middle of the story is the lowest point for the heroes, and it is a natural spot for splitting.
You're totally right, and the devs even admit to straight up splitting it for deadline constraints, but it depends on what they do with the follow-up and whether or not the first game feels like a complete experience outside of the ending events, which I think it does.
I guess given that external memory was a new concept as well, tying it into a fresh gimmick was a neat way to justify the split. In the West, Arc came with the first 3 games in a bundle, but in Japan there was a good 2 years between each or around that, so that would've been a bloody pain.
I can't believe someone other than me remembers Arc The Lad. I even liked the anime that was surprisingly gorey.
I loved Twilight of the Spirits when I was younger, so going back through the series was a no-brainer. The anime is of the third part, right? I might have ot check that out. Apparently the theme song for the English(?) dub was done by one of the chicks from the B52s. Small bloody world.
@@Caspicum The anime follows the second game starring Elc with an anime exclusive main villain. Your mileage may vary on the quality of the new main bad guy and story differences. If memory serves, it definitely has an English ending. The opening should be just an instrumental.
Talk about a franchise that could've used an HD remaster collection before emulators reached this point of quality.
I’ve never even heard of this game but by God I’m actually kinda into it now
Arc company will be so happy when I tell them! For reals though, it's worth checking out at the very least.
Speaking of Tactics Ogre, you ever gonna make a video on that game or nah?
You know it, baby. I've done the Ogre Battles, the Tactics Ogres are sitting on the shelf, waiting.
I never really felt like arc was intended to be a tactical rpg but that could have to do with the fact that I experienced the whole series (at the time) as a complete package. Generic as it is however it’s a decent take on the heroes journey albeit very narrow in scope. If anything you could compare the first game to the preview demos that come out of Japanese studios these days, or prologue demos that come out sometimes for games in development still but the devs want to maintain hype. If anything Arc 1 is clearly the prologue to the main story in part 2.
It wouldn't shock me if Arc was intended to be a more traditional JRPG, and took an easier approach to it when facing down time constraints. I think that'll be easier to piece together as I play the follow-ups for sure.
@@Caspicum I can say this, you could easily stop after part two and feel satisfied as it tells a complete story across two games. While I enjoyed part 3, I always felt that much like Twilight of Spirits and whatever the one Namco published that wasn’t even an RPG, it ultimately adds nothing to the main story.
ah just noticed the title
i have the first ps1 tactical rpg
Id like to ark the lad if YA CATCH MAH DRIFT
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cheeky bugger
oh the memories
I missed this one until I played it for this video, but I feel like I would've loved the endless dungeon as a wee laddie.
King's Bounty was also on the Genesis.
Ayy Casp BA-BEE. Class video. Arc has always been a series I have been interested in. Even own a few but never got around to it.
Also ew gross, you called it a tactics rpg instead of a strategy rpg. Blocked and reported.
SRPG is a word the Japanese use. I'm a PROUD Western cowboy
I thought you were from the Upside Down
An unavailable video in the playlist?
It might be Arc 3 (again). I was uploading it and saw it had some issues, so I had to remove it and re-edit.
It's definitely not the next arc video if that's what you're implying.
Nice Mercedes logo there bruh 9:49
vroom vroom
Wanted AtL more than FFVII back when the PSX came out, sad it took so long to come out.
Meaning I liked the art better, but then also the animation was better also as you said.
It's interesting how FF7 ended up being the better overall product, but Arc aged better visually, despite being panned for having 2D graphics. What a strange time early 3D was.
6:33 What game is this?
That's Hoshigami Ruining Blue Earth. It's on PS1 and had an NDS remake. It's not very good, I had a video planned for it but it's so boring I dropped it.
@@Caspicum Wow. That bad, huh? A few hours after this comment, I saw a list of top 20 tactical rpgs where this game was present. lol
Are you ever going go talk about the Arc the Lad anime?
I wasn't going to, but I might! The series would feel incomplete without it, I think. I just gotta figure out where it lands on the timeline, if at all, without spoiling 2 and 3.
@@Caspicum Well the anime mostly follows the story of the second game in the series.
Arc 2 is based, one of the best on the PS1. Shame it never got much attention. It's much more open, RPG-ish and long than the first, with sidequests, an overworld map, etc. The first game is like a prologue sequence of battles. Just make sure you have the romancing stones and choco on your arc 1 save
I actually have to go back through the Choco dungeon, pain in the arse that it is. I got to Choco and accidentally yeeted myself not knowing she threw grenades back at you. F
@@Caspicum Did you get the romancing stones? From what I remember she's much more manageable if you have them equipped, on the healer character IIRC for healing every turn. Arc 2 lets you fuse them into one piece of equipment that's the best item in the game as well. It's got to be the greatest point of frustration in these games how they are missable, somewhat obtuse to find and with no way to get in Arc 2 if you miss them on Arc 1. Something similar applies to Choco, too. She's nerfed in Arc 2, but there's an entire sidequest to upgrade her back into a broken endgame unit. So if you don't complete the dungeon in Arc 1 you are not only missing the unit but also some content. The final boss in Arc 2 is enough of a nightmare marathon with both of these, so I can only imagine how ridiculous it must be without them.
I loved Arc the Lad 2 and 3! Way better than the first c:
That's what I'm counting on!
@@Caspicum I hope you like them! I'll be looking forward to your review c:
What was the first PS1 RPG?
I think it was King's Field, and Suikoden might've also pre-dated this by a few months.
@@Caspicum Aah thank you!! 🙏
I´m the only who thought the trumpet guy of the thumbnail was the protagonist? Never played it but looks like a brown Jotaro Kujo.
He's not the protag, but he's defo mvp.
Thankfully, it only took 2 goddamn years to finish the series. Thank you Casp, for dealing with all this rubbish. You can now lobotomize yourself guilt-free.
Completing a series is some kind of record for me. I honestly think this is the first one I've seen through to the end. Outside of the N64 RPGs but idk does that count
Whens that FF2 video
oh shit oh fuck
Yeah, the sequel will kick you in the nuts how good it is. And you better have dragon girl otherwise the end boss is going to be very hard.
I'll have to wear a cup before I start it!
@@Caspicum fyi, the sequel takes at least 60 hours.
@@Zalachai god damn bro you were 100% right. I just edged him out with the Romancing Stone giving my infinite heals and the dragon girl. Talk about a bloated difficulty wall of a boss.
@@Caspicum I like the story of the dark one and why he is so strong, but gameplay wise...yeah.
Spoilers: it literally takes 4 attempts to defeat him permanently between arc 2, 3, 4, and 5.
madman actually did it
you're welcome
I'll definitely be a mad man on the otherside of End of Darkness
@@Caspicum alright boy whens star ocean i'll wait until eternity
@@Caspicum But seriously though don't even bother with end of darkness, without the online aspect its basically pointless as a game, same with the two RE outbreak games(obviously still better game than EOD tho lol)
Now that i just finished hunter x hunter 3rd arc suspiciously similar to atl 2
At least it's not like Golden Sun where they just blatantly stop things once you've done 2 out of the 4 lighthouse towers your party is on a quest to climb. I get they wanted a point to shift the story to the other group, but man I felt cheated as a kid, since before that point I thought the 2nd game was a sequel, and not just the second half of the story.
That was definitely a major blue balling, but when given the alternative, that is, the whole game on the Nintendo 64, you gotta pick your battles, you know?
who askd 4 this o my gaaa do chrono cross!! but srysly folks da gud nuz is wel nvr hav to sit thru a part 2 dont worry
chrono doesn't even know how his name is spelt!!!
Arc the BRUV
BRUV BRUV BRUV BRUV
What is tactical rpg??
grids, bro, grids
More like
Fart the GAG
Also, Elthlead came out in 1987 for PC88 and had movement and battles occur on the same overall map.
I had a feeling there was older ones!
@@Caspicum Nigga I mentioned Elthlead multiple times when I was on the Langrisser binge most part of the year.
i don't have a playstation casposaurus
Did somebody say: ＥＭＵＬＡＴＩＯＮ？
NO DON'T EMULATE IT NINTENDO WILL FIND YOU
Cmon man don’t use legend of dragoon soundtrack with another game. Arc the lad had some beautiful music as well!
It does, but some of the tracks are a little too bombastic and clashed with me talking a bit much. I try to stick to just the game I cover with my music selection, but sometimes I fall back on Dragoon or Grandia music. It's not a statement on the quality of the Arc OST, it's really good, but I do it all to make a... relatively better audio experience.
Was not a fan, that gas pump who recommended it to me lead me astray
the guy is not to fault for your lack of taste (just kidding)
Despite being obsessed with JRPG vidcons, Truckpump didn't really have great taste in them.
I'm sorry but your epic references are lost on me :(
@@Caspicum Oh god dude, have you not played Barkley Gaiden? Maybe you're joking or maybe you've forgotten the best character, but if not you really should. It is a timeless masterpiece of Iliadic proportions.
ua-cam.com/video/8F1cOvZ3nS8/v-deo.html
@@Caspicum no pressure but dude look up Charles Barkley shut up and jam Gaiden.
...FEMALE.
You continuing to talk about a genre you don't understand. 🤦♂️🤷♂️ You just keep embarassing yourself.
Hey, I'm open to any criticism if you've got 'em.
@@Caspicum You're clearly not. 🤦♂️🤣🤣🤣🤣
are u sexist? why do u keep saying female like that?
Yes
@@Caspicum based.
Arc the lad? more like this game bad.
O-oh. Yeah :(
This is 11 minutes and 12 seconds. Too long, tl;dr it for me please.
No Whackers.
@@Caspicum Absolutely Unreal
Question, are you going to do the whole series? If so, ooooooooof on End of Darkness xD Unless there's something I'm missing on that.
Oh yeah, I'm going all the way through to the End of Darkness. I actually started the series because I wanted to replay Twilight and try Darkness!
@@Caspicum okay, well I think I got Darkness on the cheap at a game store back in the day and it wasn't fun, and as far as I know it killed the series, but maybe there's an appeal that I missed when I played it.